Titus Jonathan's Stories

  Sudah beberapa minggu ini pikiran saya terganggu oleh dua kata. Entah apa hebatnya dua kata itu, dan entah mengapa seolah dua kata itu begitu powerful sampai membuat saya terus-menerus memikirkannya. Yang jelas dua kata itu menggelisahkan saya. Dua kata itu tidak lain adalah: Finishing well . Kata-kata “Finishing well” ini sudah sering saya dengar, tetapi hanya sebentar saja singgah di otak saya, dan setelah beberapa waktu kemudian ia pergi lagi. Lama tidak pernah memikirkannya, tahu-tahu dua kata ini mampir lagi di pikiran saya. Semua ini gara-gara berita menghebohkan di Amerika Serikat baru-baru ini, yang dengan cepat lantas menyebar ke seluruh penjuru dunia termasuk ke Indonesia. Suatu pagi tanggal 11 November, saya membaca surat kabar langganan saya, The Jakarta Post, dan terkejut menemukan berita di halaman depan berjudul “ Admitting to affair, Petraeus resigns as CIA chief ”. Yang ditulis di berita itu tidak lain adalah David Petraeus, seorang Jenderal Angkatan Dara...

Bisakah kita pindah jalur. Kehidupan yang kita jalani ini, khususnya di kota besar adalah seperti menaiki kereta api express . Hari Senin sampai Jumat kita berlari dengan kecepatan penuh. Hanya di hari Sabtu dan Minggu ( weekend ), kita bisa bersantai sejenak dengan keluarga, menyalurkan hobi dengan bersepeda di track yang masih sepi bahkan masuk ke hutan dan kampung di pinggiran kota, pergi ke gym, jalan-jalan ke mal, makan di restoran favorit, mengunjungi teman dan kerabat, dan pergi ke gereja. Di gereja kita duduk, berdoa, menyanyi lalu mendengarkan khotbah. Kalau pengkhotbahnya bagus kita seperti dibawa kepada suatu perenungan yang menyadarkan kita – apalagi kalau bukan tentang hidup kita – sudahkah kita bergerak dan berjalan di jalur yang benar? Waktu kita berdoa, kita berbicara kepada Tuhan, melakukan introspeksi dan mengatakan: “ Tuhan, aku merasa seminggu terakhir ini banyak melakukan kesalahan dan kegagalan... ” Barangkali ada yang lebih spesifik, merasa dirinya beg...

Entah sudah berapa banyak gambar yang diberikan oleh anak saya kepada saya. Gambar itu dibuatnya sendiri, dengan coretan dan warna sebebas-bebasnya. Dulu waktu ia masih berumur 2 – 3 tahun, ia menggambar sekenanya. Barangkali bukan sekenanya, barangkali ia memang menggambar dengan sungguh-sungguh, walaupun anak seumur itu hanya mengandalkan gerak motoriknya untuk mencoret-coret di atas kertas. Tetapi memang itulah bahasa anak umur 2 – 3 tahun. Hanya saya saja yang menganggap bahwa itu coretan sekenanya karena saya menilai dengan cara pandang dan pikiran orang dewasa. Harusnya saya mencoba masuk ke dalam dunia anak seumur dia dan mendengarkan dialognya dengan gambar-gambar itu, tentang apa yang digambarnya dan yang ingin disampaikannya lewat coretan-coretan dan warna-warna itu. Kemudian waktu anak saya berumur 4 tahun, gambar yang dibuatnya lebih berbentuk jelas, lebih bisa berkomunikasi, terlebih setelah ia bersekolah dan di sekolah ada pelajaran Art Works. Saya belikan alat-alat men...

(Published by The Jakarta Post on 28 Mar 2012. Click here ) What would we like to say about State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan? What he is doing always attracts attention and applause from most people. He was recently furious due to being trapped in a long traffic jam when he supposed to be attending a meeting with Garuda Indonesia in Senayan. Upon learning that two of a total of four of the Senayan toll booths were empty he exited his car and threw out chairs from inside the booths, saying, “ This chair is useless! ” He then opened the un-operated gates and let about 100 queuing cars pass without paying. Dahlan was furious because he had reminded the management of PT Jasa Marga, the toll operator, to pay attention to congestion at toll gates several times. The news quickly spread through the social media websites and BlackBerry messenger, with everyone giving him two thumbs up. The Internet saw thousands of comments on the articles about Dahlan’s actions, and praised him as...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 13 Mar 2012. Click here ) This is a time for the government to maintain deafness over the plans to increase fuel prices. It is not because I blindly support the decision, but we need a government that can show decisiveness and consistency in policies. Increasing fuel prices always creates dilemmas and problems. This is a political game, not just a calculation of numbers or profits and loss. Impacted by soaring global fuel prices of more than US$110 per barrel these days, the government reasons that the state budget will be in deficit if fuel subsidies are not cut. Is it as simple as that? Well, the government surely has evaluated the risks of any decision, so to Mr. President and the related ministers: please don’t sway with the wind, just be firm. No matter what decision is taken, either to go ahead with the plan or delay or even cancel it, the government’s decision will be criticized. Some energy analysts as well as economists who oppose the plan com...

Apel Malang Apel Washington I don't know I am forget I have no blackberry Angie Angie Huh (?) Speechless... No one has a good enough memory to be a successful liar (Abraham Lincoln)

(published by The Jakarta Post on 31 Jan 2012. Click here ) I will not judge Apriyani Susanti , the allegedly intoxicated driver who killed nine people on Jan. 22. But I do expect that the judge who presides over that case to levy a severe sentence on her to uphold justice. The judge should consider the human toll, not merely the Narcotics Law or Traffic and Land Transportation Law. Several legal experts said article 338 of Criminal Code (KUHP) on intentional murder should be invoked because Apriyani drank alcohol and used drugs prior to the crash. “She is an educated person. She should know that alcohol and drugs can make her high. That’s not negligence but deliberation,” said Bambang Widodo Umar and Eva Achyani Zulfa, both noted criminologists from the University of Indonesia (UI). The tragic accident has shocked us and created a public uproar — and not only because the lady was driving while intoxicated. The victims were innocent people who were relaxing, walking and sightseeing on ...

Ini memang unik sekaligus aneh. Saya diberitahu keponakan saya, Yoas, tentang es krim yang unik, aneh dan tiada duanya. Apa sih unik dan anehnya es krim? Itu hal biasa sekali, bukan? Jika ingin makan es krim, kita dengan mudah menemukannya di toko retail seperti Indomaret atau Alfamart yang bertebaran di mana-mana, atau di food court sebuah mal, atau bahkan dijajakan oleh para penjual es krim keliling, benar kan? Cuma es krim doang , apa istimewanya? “Tapi ini aneh dan misterius,” kata Yoas. “Lho, es krim kok misterius?!” tanya saya tak mengerti. “Orang yang jual es krim nggak ada, tapi es krimnya ada,” katanya. “Nah, terus kalau mau beli gimana?” tanya saya. “Ambil sendiri,” jawabnya. “Benar-benar es krim? Es krim sungguhan?” tanya saya lagi. “Ya es krim sungguhan-lah, masa bo’ong-bo’ongan?” “Bagaimana rasanya?” “Hmm…ueeenaak….!!! Bener deh, aku nggak pernah makan es krim seperti itu.” “Waduh…, jangan-jangan itu…” “Nggak usah mikir macam-macam, itu es krim beneran, es krim istimewa.” ...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 23 Dec 2011 in special pages of Outlook 2012. Click here ) The year 2012 will be very hot. The country, already affected by global warming, will be much hotter politically as we approach 2014. At least three challenges will be faced by our country; corruption will still have top billing, followed by the Papua issue and then the political rivalry ahead of the 2014 election. Big battles in three big corruption cases are imminent and likely will prey on other big victims (again): the re-opening of the Bank Century bailout case, the graft scandal in the dormitory project for the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang and vote-buying involving the selection of Bank Indonesia (BI) senior deputy governor Miranda S. Goeltom where the key suspect, Nunun Nurbaeti, has just been apprehended after months on the run. The battles, for sure, will happen, and major political parties will gang up on the bruised Democratic Party while it in turn will fight back. Unfortunately, tho...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 22 Nov 2011. Click here ) “Please, never underestimate the Papuan people,” said Franklin Ramses Burumi, the talented young sprinter and Papuan native who has contributed three gold medals to Indonesia’s tally in track and field at the 26th SEA Games in Palembang, South Sumatra. I believe he did not intend to be arrogant because he also represented his fellow Papuans. His message tried to remind us of these forgotten people. I definitely agree with him. I would say that we should see Papuans as important as other people and treat them with honor and respect. Papua has been a troubled province over the past few months. Bloodshed occurred following a massive strike at PT Freeport Indonesia. Then, violence reared its head following the third Papuan’s People Congress in Abepura. But Papuan athletes have shone brightly in this sporting competition. They have contributed greatly to promoting the name of Indonesia in sports. During the past decade the country ...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 26 Oct 2011. Click here ) So what are we waiting for in Cabinet reshuffle? After Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected President in 2004, he conducted a fit and proper test to select his ministers, then offered a work contract and integrity pact to be signed by the minister candidates. It is not clear to the public what the actual contents of the work contract and integrity pact were. But no matter what they were, we are pretty sure those documents have been kept under the pillow. In the Cabinet reshuffle this time, SBY is doing the same. Do the work contracts contain key performance indicators (KPI) as are normally included in professional work contracts? Considering the ministerial posts, which are so important that they affect a huge nation like Indonesia, can we imagine what the KPIs looked like? But it does not mean anything for common people because what people expect from the ministers basically is very simple. People do not care whether or not ...

Hari Sabtu menjelang perayaan Lebaran tahun ini, saya, istri dan anak saya jalan-jalan ke Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua, ditemani oleh keponakan saya dan istrinya yang sudah biasa dan sering mondar-mandir kesana. Sudah lebih dari 3 tahun saya tak mengunjungi Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua. Terakhir kali yang saya ingat adalah ketika membelikan sepeda untuk anak saya ketika usianya 1,5 atau menjelang 2 tahun-an. Sepeda itu sekarang sudah terlampau kecil untuk anak saya, dan saya belum juga membelikan sepeda baru yang ukurannya ‘memadai’ untuknya. Untung anak saya tidak pernah merengek-rengek dibelikan sepeda. Tetapi hari itu tujuan saya ke Mangga Dua bukan untuk membeli sepeda, saya ingin mengantar istri saya mencari beberapa keperluan, di samping itu saya punya tujuan lain, yaitu memang sengaja ingin memotret keriuhan, hiruk-pikuk dan denyut nadi menjelang Lebaran pasar yang disebut sebagai pusat grosir terbesar di Asia Tengggara itu. Siapa tahu di pasar itu saya bisa menemukan inspirasi untuk jadi ped...